Cowboys & Indians / September 2010 / A Native American Pilgrimage East of the Mississippi

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A Native American Pilgrimage East of the Mississippi

The Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian offers ten reccomendations for must-see Native sites east of the Mississippi

 

During my career I have had the unique opportunity to travel the country and see numerous Native communities, revered Native places as well as cultural centers and museums. The variety is vast and the people I’ve met have been accommodating, welcoming, and willing to share their homes, meals, and stories. In those travels I have noticed of late an encouraging trend: a resurgence of cultural pride and a shift in focus from the past history of Native America to the contemporary lives and future of the more than 560 tribes in the United States.

 

That cultural pride is evident around the country at countless sites that have significance in the American Indian experience. Among the regions of the country where important Native sites lend a richness to the local geography, the area east of the Mississippi offers abundant opportunities for rewarding exploration of the Indian fiber of America. Here is a list of some of the top Native places east of the Mississippi that I consider must-sees for any traveler.

 

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George Gustav Heye Center, New York
The National Museum of the American Indian George Gustav Heye Center in Lower Manhattan across from Battery Park opened on October 30, 1994. Now housed in the historic Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, one of the most splendid Beaux Arts buildings in New York, the Heye Center began as the personal collection of George Gustav Heye, a wealthy investment banker who collected nearly a million items that became the largest collection of American Indian artifacts in the world. The museum offers a wide array of exhibitions and public programming that present the diversity of the Native peoples of the Americas and the strength of their cultures from the earliest times to the present. Its very successful annual art market in December brings Native vendors from across the country to New York City, and the Gallery Store sells handcrafted artisan goods for the novice collector. www.nmai.si.edu.

 

 

Serpent Mound, Ohio
The site of a great prehistoric effigy mound 1,330 feet in length and every bit as long in mystery, Serpent Mound lies along Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio. There is a great interpretation center that reveals the history and geology of the area and the people who built the snakelike mounds centuries ago. Some believe the head of the snake aligns with the summer solstice. Walking the footpath around the effigy allows the visitor to contemplate its possible uses and reasons it might have been built. www.greatserpentmound.com.

 

 

Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Connecticut
Decimated in colonial America by smallpox, war, and slavery, the Pequot of Mashantucket in southeastern Connecticut had dwindled according to a 1774 census to 151 people; many survivors moved away. Eventually returning in the 1970s to reclaim ancestral land, tribe members opened a bingo operation in 1986. In 1992 it became a casino, which eventually grew in to the huge complex known as Foxwoods Resort Casino. A short walk from the casino, you will find the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. This museum in the woods allows visitors to experience the story of the Pequot from their earliest existence. When walking in the facsimile village, you can smell the smoke of burning fires and hear the wildlife that is in the woods. The museum uses technology to its fullest and engages all the senses. Tracking Pequot history up to the present, it presents an inspiring story of tragedy, perseverance, and prosperity.
www.pequotmuseum.org.

 

Museum of the Cherokee Indian, North Carolina
Located in Cherokee, North Carolina, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian is nestled in the beautiful Smoky Mountain Range. The relationship between people and peaks is a symbiotic one: The Eastern Cherokees have protected the mountains, and in return the surrounding landscape provides for the Cherokees. Immerse yourself in the history of the Cherokee not only through exhibitions, but also through activities such as making pottery and beadwork and exploring area trails. Extensive archives contain rare books, documents, and photos, all of which are housed in a new education and research wing. Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Seminole, and Chickasaw tribal members will participate at the Southeast Tribes Festival September 17-18, which will be held in conjunction with the first Southeast Indian Writers Gathering September 16-17. www.cherokeemuseum.org. 

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Illinois
Fifteen minutes east of St. Louis, on the Illinois side of the state line, Cahokia was home to ancient Mississippians who lived in a communal society that flourished more than 1,000 years ago. During its golden age (A.D. 1100-1200), there might have been as many as 20,000 people living at Cahokia-their complex belief and building systems evidenced by as many as five “Woodhenges” and more than 100 mysterious mounds. Today, the interpretive center features an orientation film titled City of the Sun, a re-created village in the exhibit gallery, and exhibits that investigate the mounds and the importance of the Mississippian culture. You can take a walking tour of the mounds, burial site, and burrow pit. Climb to the top of Monks Mound for a truly magnificent view. www.cahokiamounds.org.

 

 

Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Pennsylvania
This was the site of one of the most complex chapters of Native history — the Indian boarding school. From 1879 to 1918 in a former Army barracks, an industrial school was started to “civilize” Native children who were taken from all over the United States and brought to train in several trades and vocations. When they arrived, their hair was cut; they were required to dress in military-style uniforms. They were not allowed to speak their languages. Many succumbed to tuberculosis, mumps, and influenza. Yet the children persevered and maintained their Native identities. The children’s cemetery testifies to their suffering: 192 children from more than three dozen tribes are buried here.

 

National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.
The museum on the National Mall features three permanent exhibitions. Our world-class collection covers cultures from North, Central, and South America and totals more than 800,000 items. Our Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe is the only Zagat-rated museum cafe in Washington and has a devoted following. We also present a full calendar of public programs, including concerts, festivals, symposiums, and theater, and we offer one-of-a-kind temporary exhibitions featuring the likes of venerated Native artists such as Fritz Scholder, George Morrison, Brian Jungen, and Allan Houser. Outside, the design has reintroduced a landscape indigenous to the Washington area before “contact.” www.nmai.si.edu.

 

 

Ganondagan State Historic Site, New York
This site in upstate New York was once the capital of the Seneca Nation and the center of their culture and governance. Ganondagan once had longhouses, stores, a granary, and crops. It is also the burial place of “The Mother of Nations,” an Erie woman named Jikohnsaseh who was instrumental in forging the Iroquois Confederacy. In 1687, a French war party destroyed Ganondagan in an attempt to eliminate the Seneca as competitors in the fur trade.
On the wind-swept grounds here, visitors can take self-guided walks on trails marked with illustrated signs that tell the story of the Seneca. A life-size longhouse contains accurate reproductions of clothing, blankets, and tools, and shows how multiple families of the same clan lived in the mid-17th century. Don’t miss the annual Native American Dance & Music Festival and great hands-on activities like cornhusk doll making, as well as  historical reenactments, artist demos, and games. www.ganondagan.org.   

 

Jamestown, Virginia
Known as the first location of contact between the local Powhatan tribes and the English, this area is rich with Native and early American history. Established in 1607, Jamestown, Virginia, was the first permanent English settlement in America. When colonists arrived, approximately 14,000 Algonquian-speaking Powhatan Indians in 30 tribes lived in the area. One of the daughters of their leader, Powhatan, was Pocahontas. As you make your way along the Jamestown Island Drive, it’s easy to imagine what it might have looked like around the time that Capt. John Smith and the Powhatan people met. Wild forests and swamplands still teem with wildlife, including deer and eagles. At Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia history, you can experience outdoor re-creations of a Powhatan Indian village, three English ships, and a colonial fort. Nearby at Historic Jamestowne, the actual Jamestown site, archaeologists excavating the 1607 James Fort are uncovering a rich picture of the daily interaction between the two cultures. Discoveries include complete Indian pots used by the colonists and traditional Indian tools such as bone needles, bone hair pins, stone celts (axes), and stone drills. www.historyisfun.org.

 

Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, Florida
In between Naples and Fort Lauderdale in South Florida, just north of the Everglades National Park, the Seminole way of life is being kept alive on the Big Cypress Indian Reservation. Here, the Seminoles have created a museum with a variety of life-size dioramas that show different scenes from daily life (the Smithsonian NMAI has loaned objects to the exhibitions here). Walk the one-mile raised boardwalk under a 60-acre canopy of cypress trees to see native bird species, bobcats, and bears. The path leads to the ceremonial grounds and Living Village, where you can explore the traditional thatched-roof open-sided dwellings on stilts known as chickees, talk with tribal members, and take part in the many programs, including demonstrations of traditional arts such as basketry, canoe carving, beadwork, and dance. www.ahtahthiki.com.

 

 

Mammoth Cave, Kentucky
The longest known cave system in the world has a history with Native Americans since the Paleoindians hunted and gathered in this area. These ancient Native Americans also came here to explore and mine the upper three levels of Mammoth Cave, seeking gypsum, selenite, and other minerals. Thousands of artifacts found in the caves - including gourd bowls, mussel shells, cord, pottery, even woven moccasins - attest to their presence from 4,000 years ago until nearly 2,000 years ago. There are so many tours offered that it is hard to choose. The tours range from a half-hour to six and a half hours; one includes the petroglyphs that still exist on the cave walls. www.nps.gov/maca.

 

Plimoth Plantation, Massachusetts
This living-history museum allows you to enter a Wampanoag village and a Pilgrim settlement looking much as they did in 1627. You can talk with Native interpreters and English colonist reenactors. Walk aboard the Mayflower II, where you’ll encounter maritime artisans and role players portraying the people who traveled on the original ship. Wampanoag, Mayflower, and Colonial collections at Plimoth Plantation include objects and artifacts from daily life from 1500 to 1700. At the Nye Barn you can see agricultural breeds that would have been common at the English settlement in Plymouth in the 1620s; text and photographs explain the history of various breeds in the Plimoth historic- and rare-breeds program. And at the Craft Center, modern artisans who are experts in 17th-century techniques demonstrate historic crafts. The museum offers overnight trips for kids and can provide Native speakers or consultants. www.plimoth.org.

 

On Exhibit AT NMAI: Blockbuster shows in D.C. and N.Y.C.

 

Up Where We Belong: Native Musicians in Popular Culture 
Through January 2, 2011
NMAI on the National Mall, Washington, D.C.
Highlights Native musicians in popular culture, including Russell “Big Chief” Moore (Gila River Indian Community), the group Redbone, and other Native performing artists who have had successful careers in popular music. Hear samples by music greats and learn about artists who inspired them as well as the contemporary artists they themselves influenced or collaborated with. Among the prized items in the show, a full-length patchwork coat that belonged to Jimi Hendrix (Cherokee).

 

Vantage Point: The Contemporary Native Art Collection
September 25, 2010 – August 7, 2011
NMAI on the National Mall, Washington, D.C.
Showcases the National Museum of the American Indian’s collection of contemporary art, with significant works by 25 artists in media ranging from paintings, drawings, and photography to video projection and mixed-media installation. Featured artists include James Lavadour (Walla Walla), Truman Lowe (Ho-Chunk), Alan Michelson (Mohawk) and Marie Watt (Seneca).
 
A Song for the Horse Nation
Through July 7, 2011
George Gustav Heye Center, New York
Brings together stunning historical objects - including ledger drawings, hoof ornaments, beaded bags, hide robes, paintings, and other objects — and new pieces by contemporary Native artists to reveal how horses have shaped the social, economic, cultural, and spiritual foundations of American Indian life, particularly on the Great Plains.

 

Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian
October 23, 2010 - October 25, 2020
George Gustav Heye Center, New York
Demonstrates the breadth of the museum’s renowned permanent collection and highlights the historic importance of a selection from more than 700 iconic objects of Native art from throughout North, Central, and South America. A display of headdresses includes a magnificent Kayapó macaw and heron feather ceremonial headdress.
— Jim Shahin
 
Buy The Book
The next best thing to visiting these sites for yourself is reading American Indian Places by Frances H. Kennedy.

 

The first historical guidebook to locations of significance to American Indians, it describes 366 sites that are open to the public. “The photographs are spectacular and the essays are as enthralling as they are authoritative,” says Kevin Gover, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. “I recommend this historical guidebook to anyone wanting to learn more about these special places, the remarkable people who lived there, and their descendants. It’s a must-read for all planning a visit to any one of the hundreds of sites illuminated in this excellent book.” Proceeds from American Indian Places are donated to the National Museum of the American Indian. It is available on Amazon.com and through NMAI at www.nmai.si.edu.
— Jim Shahin

 

 

 

Issue: September 2010

Filed under: Western, Native Life